An Island Momhttp://www.anislandmom.com
From Big City To Small Island LivingMon, 31 Dec 2018 20:52:03 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3Anticipating 2019http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4254
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4254#respondMon, 31 Dec 2018 20:52:03 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4254Somehow, I missed winter solstice this year. I like to mark these things, but I’d been wrapped up in work on our home after Florence, so it passed silently by me. The next day, I realized it in the early evening, as we left a building store. We’d been there for probably three hours and while inside, it had grown dark. As we walked back to our vehicle, something about the gray-black sky broken by the surrounding streetlights reminded me. I thought about how the darkest day of the year was already gone, and how it would be 364 days before we’d know that much darkness again. For almost six months now, each day will be filled with more and more slivers of light, making each day brighter than the one that came before.

That’s my hope for us this year, that each day will be filled with more light than the one that preceded it. Be strong; take heart. There is much to anticipate, and this anticipation is a light of its own.

May your new year be light-filled. Happy 2019.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42540Merry Christmas and Happy Holidayshttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4248
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4248#respondMon, 24 Dec 2018 20:55:30 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4248“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42480Christmas News in Interesting Timeshttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4243
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4243#respondTue, 18 Dec 2018 03:57:42 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4243Y’all, the above statement is true, but it’s also true that we live in interesting times this holiday season, whether we’re beach dwellers or not.

Case in point: I enjoy the movie A Christmas Story, especially Ralph’s narration (e.g., “Oh, rarely had the words poured from my pen and pencil with such feverish fluidity,” and “In the heat of battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan”). So I find it fascinating that now, not only can you tour the actual house used in the movie (located in Cleveland), but you can also rent it for a night. Several sources are reporting the nightly fee is $3,000, which I found fascinating in an I-didn’t-see-that-coming sense. However, because I am nothing if not thorough, for fun I tried putting a couple of different nights in my cart (one in December of ’18 and one in December of ‘19) and found that the actual rates were around $1,000 a night. Just saying. As a less costly alternative, the Bumpus House (remember the next door neighbors and all their mayhem-causing hounds) is also available, minus the hounds; guests can rent either half the house or the whole thing, with rates starting at $195 a night. Let’s all stop and imagine, for a minute, a Christmas getaway, or any kind of getaway really, at the Bumpus House.

These are strange times, my friends, times I never knew I’d live to see.

In other news, this is a good week to spot a comet with your naked eyeballs, if that’s something you’d like to do. Comet 46P/Wirtanen is reportedly (my own eyeballs haven’t seen it yet) green, special-like for the holidays. Sunday night, December 16, was the night it was closest to the earth, but experts assure us that if you are committed, naked eyeball sightings are still possible throughout the week. No word on why they can’t give all comets simpler names, like they do with hurricanes (Irma, Matthew, or Stan, for instance).

Here’s a growing trend I love: putting real Christmas trees out on the base of coastal dunes after Christmas is over. I’ve seen this done many times on our islands as a way of building up dunes that have eroded from summer storms and northeasterlies. The branches hold in wind-blown sand and provide nutrients for the dune vegetation. This will be especially awesome this season after so much of the Carolina coastline took a hit from Hurricane Florence. Check out Coastal Review Online and this video from Surfrider Foundation in Carolina Beach, North Carolina to see how it’s done.

Finally, this year, my tree topper, the tree beads, and many ornaments went MIA (one box never made it out of storage we think), so I decided to change things up a little. Instead of beads, I purchased ribbon to use in their place. My problem, however, manifest itself in two parts. One, I can only craft in my head. Nothing attractively crafted ever makes it from my brain into the real world. Two, in an attempt to remedy this inadequacy, I decided to watch videos on how to ribbon-dress a tree. This was like opening up Pandora’s box of anxiety. Early on, I learned you need layers of different kinds of ribbons, which I didn’t have. Then, I was shocked to discover that sophisticates don’t wrap the ribbon in circles around the tree; they cut large pieces of ribbon and loop them through the branches, letting them somehow take on a natural, organic, and yet artistic shape. Honestly, I thought this was stupid at first, something only people with perfect children and too much time on their hands would do. But then the experts started throwing out the term “tree goals” like they are actual things you should have. And they went on with all this stuff about “it’s important to add depth and interest to your tree” (Wait. What are those?), and “If you are ready to have an actual grown-up tree,” and suddenly there I was, cutting and looping and crying, because who doesn’t want to be a grown-up, and also because my loops didn’t look natural, organic, or artistic. They just looked like loops, and they don’t match my tree skirt.

Ah, well. I’m sorry to report that we are now living with a pseudo-grown-up tree that isn’t coordinated and that looks a little—well, loopy.

I told you we live in interesting times.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42430Thanksgiving Thoughtshttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4238
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4238#respondWed, 21 Nov 2018 19:09:18 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4238When it comes to Thanksgiving, I’m pretty much with Charlie Brown. Like Charlie, “I can’t cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast.”

Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I’ll probably end up making the mashed potatoes and I’m attempting a chocolate mousse this year. But, as always, I’ll be staying far away from the bird; this has consistently been wise on my part.

Whatever food you feast on this Thanksgiving, and whether you’re involved in its preparation or not, I hope it is bountiful, delicious, and if it involves turkey, properly cooked.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42380My, How Halloween Times Have Changedhttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4229
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4229#respondWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:22:46 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4229I was looking back over old Halloween pictures this morning and had to laugh.

Years back, my kids spent weeks debating over costumes, who to be and what specific pieces to wear, which accessories to make and which to buy.

For years, we were all about action heroes and princesses, ready to brighten the world with our existence.

This year, the boys each picked up a black cape for their costumes. Neither can seem to pinpoint, in any sort of intelligible way, who or what they are in these capes. So I’m going to call their ensembles “The Morbid Collection” and leave it at that. Baby-Girl has waffled for the last two months about what to be, her only certainty the fact that she likes none of my suggestions. Last night, in a panic, she dragged LCB to the store to hunt for ideas only to be repulsed by the mosh pit of customers, all also in last-minute panics, swarming all the costumes. As of this morning, when she left for school, she was still vague about her costuming plans.

My, how times have changed.

So, having no idea what will walk out of my house tonight holding bags designed for maximum candy acquisitions, I’ll leave you instead with a picture of a pumpkin on the beach.

Because when in doubt, y’all.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42290Hurricanes Florence and Michaelhttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4225
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4225#respondWed, 10 Oct 2018 15:24:41 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4225First, thank you for all of your well-wishes and prayers. While our house did receive some damage from Florence that we will be dealing with over the coming months, it fared far, far better than we expected. We are so grateful.

However, so many in our area are suffering, unable to return to homes, work, schools, and life as they knew it. The flooding in the Carolinas did damage that will take many months to restore. Please continue to support and pray for those who are hurting because of Florence. They need it.

Finally, my thoughts go out to the people of the Florida Panhandle and beyond today, as Hurricane Michael heads northward across the Gulf. Somewhere along the way during Florence’s hit, I saw an out-of-state sign that read, “Today, we are all North Carolinians,” and I remember being touched by the unexpected sentiment. This day, I think many would say this about Floridians. Our hearts and prayers are with all of you, my friends.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42250Thoughts on Hurricane Florencehttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4217
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4217#respondThu, 13 Sep 2018 18:37:05 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4217I’ve struggled with what to write about Hurricane Florence, who stands a good chance of becoming my personally least favorite hurricane to date. As I write from afar, the waves are pushing up against the dunes across my island and many of the nearby islands as well. Rivers are swelling, streets are flooding, and that angry sky seems everywhere.

Our original island home, the one we dreamed of and planned for and lived so much of our lives in, will likely sustain a serious hit in the hours that follow. When you have a home on an island, you know there are risks.

But still. There is no joy in watching this unfold.

We spent some time there again last week, cleaning up after our last tenants and enjoying the beach. Last night, weary of weather reports and worry, I pulled up the pictures of that visit. In my preoccupation with Florence, I’d already forgotten some things, like how, for instance, the kids decided to take an air mattress, abandoned by tenants,

and use it first as a surfboard (mostly a fail)

and later as a raft

(mostly a success).

I wish I had better pictures, but late the first night, the moon rose, fire-orange, up from the Atlantic just as I stepped outside. The next night, just as darkness had fully settled in, an oceanfront fireworks display brought me running outside to watch the yellows and blues and purples and greens lighting up the sky.

Memory leads on to memory, and soon between pictures I was remembering back through the years, to holidays and ordinary days and moonlit walks and sunrise talks and all of it, our lives so full here.

I got to the end of the pictures and realized I’d forgotten something else. On the last night, my oldest stayed out on the beach later than the rest of us. He sat on through the dusk and into the night, watching the shoreline and the Atlantic before him.

I’m glad he got a chance to do that, after several days of what we all had decided was perfect weather, in that Eden-like place, just before the storm.

Our emotions run the gamut right now, as is probably true for so many with this hurricane. But we are holding to our faith, and we are so grateful for the lives we’ve been able to live at this precious place. It has been a joy-filled gift. I, and so many I know, will be praying for the coast and beyond, almost round-the-clock, the next few days. My prayers are especially with all of the first responders and emergency personnel already working tirelessly to ensure public safety; we are most thankful for your sacrifice.

Peace to you all.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42170Happy Labor Day Weekend!http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4213
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4213#respondSat, 01 Sep 2018 19:34:14 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4213Happy Labor Day Weekend! May your weekend be full of rest.
]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42130Calm Days at the Beachhttp://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4205
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4205#respondSat, 18 Aug 2018 18:44:43 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4205On a calm day at the beach, sometimes our goal is an uninterrupted nap.

If we wake in Bermuda, so be it.

Other times, however, we pray for the waves to grow.

And if they do and they capsize our boat,

so be it.

]]>http://www.anislandmom.com/?feed=rss2&p=42050Thoughts on the Sea #23http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4201
http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4201#respondThu, 05 Jul 2018 09:56:28 +0000http://www.anislandmom.com/?p=4201To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude.